Employees who experience a “COBRA-qualifying event” and would otherwise lose group health coverage are entitled to elect to continue their group health coverage under federal law – COBRA. For those employers not covered by COBRA (who have fewer than 20 employees), Louisiana has a group health insurance continuation statute that also allows employees to continue
After midnight on March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6201, a 110 page, bipartisan coronavirus response bill. The House approved the bill on a 363-40 vote and has President Trump’s support. Included in the bill are comprehensive mandated paid leave provisions related to the coronavirus outbreak. The Senate is expected to
Responses to the coronavirus that directly impact employers are making their way through Congress. CBS and other news outlets are reporting on Congressional leaders’ negotiations regarding various measures that will directly impact employers. These measures include paid emergency sick leave and disaster unemployment assistance. See the attached link from CBS News regarding the Congressional response
On May 12, 2016, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published a rule that required a “reasonable procedure” for employees to report work-related injuries and illnesses and prohibited retaliation against employees who report such injuries or illnesses. The regulations defined an unreasonable procedure as one that deterred or discouraged a reasonable employee from
From New York to Hollywood and now New Orleans, well-publicized allegations of sexual harassment have dominated the news. Click here for a recent CNN article on a recent issue. Sexual harassment is unlawful and can lead to much bigger issues than bad press. Click here for information on sex-based discrimination from the U.S. Equal Employment
On Monday, a Fifth Circuit majority held that a class-action and collective action waiver was enforceable, regardless of whether or not the waiver was part of an arbitration agreement. This is good news for employers in the Fifth Circuit who do not want to have mandatory arbitration agreements with employees, but do want to have
On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that sexual orientation discrimination is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
As previously noted, there has been much debate among the courts regarding the meaning of the term “sex” under Title VII and whether discrimination based on sexual orientation
As with any change in administration, this is a time of uncertainty. One example is the rights of transgender individuals to access certain restrooms in the workplace, which, based on recent events, will likely continue to be a source of uncertainty for many employers.
Federal law does not expressly prohibit discrimination based on transgender status.
Today, the United States Supreme Court decided to consider three decisions involving class-action waivers in employee arbitration agreements. As background, many employers require employees to sign arbitration agreements. In these agreements, employees give up the right to sue their employer and agree that all employment related claims will be subject to arbitration. Many of these
In the wake of yesterday’s news that a Texas federal judge issued a nationwide injunction halting the FLSA overtime regulations, scheduled to become effective December 1, 2016, many employers are asking “what now.” The answer will continue to develop. For now, though, here are some initial things to keep in mind: